![]() "No one expected us to win," said longtime Seahawks quarterback Matt Hasselbeck, now a backup for the Indianapolis Colts. And the 11-5 Saints were just coming off a Super Bowl win the year before. The Seahawks sneaked into the playoffs with a 7-9 record, making them the first division winner in NFL history with a losing record. Just about everybody outside of the Seahawks' locker room thought the Saints entered the day as the better team. ![]() We still had a chance to win at the end but just didn't make the play when it counted." "To me, we were the better team going up there, and we just got behind and made a lot of mistakes. And I think more than anything, that run just kind of put in one play the day that we kind of had. But it was a lot more bad tackling on our part. Ever since that run, he's been a lot more talked about," said former Saints linebacker Scott Shanle, whose inability to bring Lynch down at the line of scrimmage was the key moment of that run. "I think, in a way, it resurrected Marshawn Lynch's career. To try to capture that visceral experience, contacted 14 players who were on the field - and one All-Pro quarterback who was on the sideline - for one of the greatest plays in NFL playoff history.Īlthough the Seahawks fan base quickly warmed to Lynch's rugged running style, it wasn't until the 3:38 mark of the fourth quarter of that playoff game that he truly earned the reputation he has today as arguably the NFL's most punishing runner. It was that damn loud," Lynch said recently when he opened up to ESPN's "E:60" for a rare interview. "If you wasn't in this stadium to see it and to hear it, I feel that you're bein' shortchanged by watching the video. Then you'll see the stiff-arm - or was it a left hook? - that sent cornerback Tracy Porter reeling and cemented Lynch's run as one of the all-time classics.īut if you weren't there to experience it firsthand, well, then, you'll just have to settle for the legend. Then you'll see him gain momentum as he bursts through a series of hapless defenders, hopelessly trying to bring him down with an arm tackle or a leg grab. You'll see Lynch emerging from a scrum at the line of scrimmage, bouncing free from his first broken tackle. And you'll see the highlight countless times Monday, leading up to the rematch between the Seahawks (10-1) and Saints (9-2) on ESPN's "Monday Night Football." Like any good modern-day tall tale, the video has become a YouTube sensation. I kind of stopped and watched at one point, just in awe. "Best run I've ever seen in my life," Seahawks left tackle Russell Okung, one of Lynch's linemen that day, said last week. But the way that run is remembered, it's almost as though Lynch was shaking the earth himself with each thunderous step - like he was Paul Bunyan in football pads - while he tossed aside a series of Saints defenders on his way into the end zone. In truth, it was Seattle's raucous "12th Man" crowd that shook the stands enough to produce those vibrations in the ground. Seismic activity was actually recorded outside the Seahawks' home stadium during Lynch's stunning 67-yard touchdown run that clinched a 41-36 playoff victory over the reigning Super Bowl champions on Jan. Many of those who were on the field that day swear they remember the ground quaking beneath their feet when Seattle Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch went "Beast Mode" on the New Orleans Saints.Īnd technically, they're not exaggerating. We are bringing it back to celebrate the fifth anniversary of the run. — - Editor's note: This story was first published on Dec.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |